This is my journey - a look at my struggles and discoveries, my dreams and setbacks, my daily walk toward eternity. Sometimes you'll catch glimpses of my forthcoming books, sometimes you'll discover background on my previous ones. Sometimes you'll just see the world through my slightly skewed eyes. Join me on my journey through this paradox called life.
(All text on this site is copyrighted by Steven James.)

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

To Tweet or Not to Tweet?

Recently I was at a seminar on social media by a man who has 40,000 Twitter followers. He told us the story of how he was having trouble with his cable connection and sent out a tweet complaining about it. The next day Comcast’s truck was at his doorstep and they laid brand new cable for his entire block!

Now, that's certainly impressive, but it got me thinking—is there any other form of mass communication that you could send out a complaint like that to 40,000 people and it not be narcissistic?

In other words, imagine walking up to 40,000 people at a time and complaining to them about the speed of your cable connection, or sending out 40,000 letters or emails, or an announcement on the radio or television to 40,000 people that your cable connection was slow. How does it benefit 40,000 people to hear that you’re annoyed at the speed of your computer’s cable connection?

Pascal, a 17th century philosopher and mathematician, wrote, “We do not content ourselves with the life we have in ourselves; we desire to live an imaginary life in the minds of others, and for this purpose we endeavor to shine."

Facebook and Twitter give us the chance to do that: to constantly insert ourselves into other people’s minds with the trivialities or our own lives. So, here are a few questions I’ve been asking myself lately about my facebook posts:

Am I using this post to get what I want, to maintain a certain image or identity, or to bring other people a better life? Who benefits from this?

If I were to give up this aspect of social media, would I feel that something important is missing from my life? I heard about a study of college students in which they had to give up social media and networking for a week and after three days one girl needed to see a therapist. “I feel like people might have forgotten about me,” she said. She needed to know that she was living in other people’s minds.

If no on “likes” or comments on one of my status updates, photos, blog entries, etc.… do I feel overlooked, hurt or slighted? Honestly, sometimes I do. And when I do, I can’t help but think of Pascal’s words once again.

What do you think? Is it (or isn't it) self-centered to inform 40,000 people that your cable connection is annoyingly slow?

13 comments:

Anonymous
said...

I don't necessarily believe it makes one self-centered. I personally don't tweet or follow anyone on twitter. I don't want to follow anyone's every move. I do think social media (like Facebook) makes us feel connected to other people. God made us social creatures. Social media is a good way to keep up with friends and family and not feel isolated.

Interesting article. I'm not a huge social media person. I joined FB for the sole purpose of following a few authors who either don't have websites or their websites aren't frequently updated. Since then I've ended up with several acquaintances most of whom I wouldn't talk to for more than five minutes if we were in the same room together.

For some time I've called it a place to brag, to complain, and to share the mundane aspects of life. I see very few posts that are particularly engaging and a LOT that I have no idea why it's my business (or why I would care) to know that about someone and what possessed them to share it with virtual strangers.

Anyway, for the primary reason I signed up for it, it's great. However, overall I find the influence of Twitter and FB a bit unsettling. I don't know that it's self-centered to complain about an internet connection, but I do wonder why anyone cared, especially enough to generate that type of response to/from Comcast.

I have been trying to find the Bishop in the audio book form for my husband. He has read all your books and has been patiently waiting for this one to be released on audible.com. Do you have any idea when or if this is going to be an option?

Hey Steven,Ok, so a story teller is complaining about people telling very small stories about their lives on FB and twitter?!"I know this sounds a little odd to say, but stories help us to start believing the things we already know." Steven James.It's that "resonating" story that attracts us to each other, the commonalities of life that say, "I am not alone." That's why Comcast got their act together to fix up the cable -- they didn't want the story out that cable is slow. In the small things, that whole neighbourhood benefited from one man's voice. Your musing brings to light that being a part of a community counts. The ability to reflect together has the potential of revealing the purpose of each individual and the community at large. Having that connection can produce great results if managed properly, and with purpose.

Perhaps it's helpful to differentiate between maintaining friendships with those close to us, as Anonymous pointed out, and sharing the trivialities of our lives with tens of thousands of people.

Kent, thanks for keeping the conversation going! I agree that stories and community matter; I'm just not yet convinced that taking up people's time complaining about a small inconvenience is a good way of serving those people. When I teach about storytelling, I usually remind folks that stories should be told for the benefit of the listeners, not so that the storyteller can vent or just get something off his chest.

I can see how Twitter does give businesses the opportunity to respond quickly to consumer issues, but I can't see how the cable complaint was an act of humility, grace or selflessness.

Have you read or heard of 'Hurt' by Chap Clark or "All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes" ?

Both seem to get to the point that we are all desperately lonely and facebook, texting, and other forms of communication that aren't face to face while feel as if they bring us closer together since they are easier to use - do the exact opposite and make us more and more lonely than before.

So I agree with your post and questions. I work with youth and the more postings about trivial things - the more I see a kid reaching out for affection or love in the wrong way. I in no way saying fb, twitter, texting, etc. is wrong. I do all the above! But, I think it like anything can be used either FOR god's glory or against His glory.

Therefore, it can either be a good thing or bad - depending on how we use it and our motives. Just like the internet can be used to promote a church's website or it can be used for pornography.

But either way - we can't ever replace REAL life interactive relationships with these FAKE ones online.Thanks for asking the question.

Ryan, I have heard of "All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes" but have not read it.

Your comments about teens brought to mind a book I've started reading: "Alone Together" by Sherry Turkle. It's a fascinating and sobering look at how some of these issues are affecting our culture and reshaping our society. She points out that college used to be a place for the next generation to start over, but not anymore. Their high school days--mistakes, posts, "friends"--will follow them, affect them forever. She interviewed one teen for an hour and when the interview was over he had 100 text messages. He looked at her wearily and said, "How long do I have to do this?"

And the answer is, every day for the rest of your life--unless you do something to change that.

I consider it a complete waste of time to post or read about someone's "slow cable"... I mean, really? I wouldn't even bore my mother with such triviality! I do hope that whatever I write on FB has meaning to more than just me. If it doesn't encourage, inspire, convict or make one ponder... then it is a waste of time. No one wants to know what I ate for lunch or if my dry cleaning is too expensive. And if what I do manage to write still bores readers, they can move along and ignore my post as I have done on many occasions. So yes, I do think it self centered to gripe to the masses. Do we have anything better to say? Please tell me we have more depth to us than that. ~Tanya

You're right Tanya. Reading your note reminded me how short life is; how solitude and silence and deeper reflection make it more meaningful. So many things vie for my attention and I have to keep asking myself, "Is this something that adds to my life or not?"

I personally use Facebook because I believe it's fun to use a network like it to stay in contact and chat with not only friends that I know in real life, but also new friends that I make through fan pages of authors such as Ted Dekker and Erin Healy. And of course Steven James, but that has yet to happen. :)

I complain on my Facebook account all of the time, and I do it because I feel like it. I express my opinions because I need to do it somewhere, and Facebook is always just THERE.

Meh, I guess that's just me. I don't use Facebook as a game site to play stupid little games (that unfortunately are addicting, so I hardly ever play them), but rather as a tool for communication.

Like anything else, social media can be a lifesaver or a dangerous enterprise. I use fb to keep in touch with those I can't possibly find the time to keep in touch with in a conventional way. As a military spouse, I'm constantly "moving on" geographically. I LOVE knowing what my former neighbors are doing in Seattle or Honolulu or Norfolk.

That being said, I recognize this reaching out and sharing mundane details of our lives for what it is; a pale imitation of what our souls hunger for and were meant to experience. Connectivity on a spiritual level is an intense, addictive experience. Those moments of connection tend to divide our lives into chapters. And once experienced, it's hard not to strive to duplicate them.

Social media can FEEL like a spiritual experience at 3am when we're lonely and sleepless but most times, it's just a social experience. Most times.

Good thoughts. I keep asking myself, "How many people do I need to keep in touch with?" It's not an easy question. As I've traveled over the past 16 years I've met thousands of people I could stay connected with--hundreds that I might be tempted to--but my time doesn't allow for that. Fb is redefining what a friend is, and it's overwhelming to me to think about the implications.

24 (who cares if it's not a movie, it's better than most of the ones out there)

Spiderman 2

Batman Begins

Star Trek - The Wrath of Khan

Clay Pigeons

Frequency

A Simple Plan

Running Scared

Blood Simple

Best Laid Plans

Silence of the Lambs

Aliens

Terminator 2

11:14

Seven

Raiders of the Lost Ark

The Sixth Sense

Minority Report

Magnolia

Memento

Tape

Water

Crash

House of Sand and Fog

The Fugitive

In America

The Hours

Blackhawk Down

The Game

Luxury Yachts and Starving Babies

“Anyone whose common sense has not been dulled by familiarity should be able to see the blindingly obvious truth that there is something radically wrong with a civilization in which millions devote their lives to pointless luxuries that do not even make them happy, while millions of others are starving; a civilization where no hand, voluntary or involuntary, moves money from luxury yachts to starving babies fast enough to save the babies.”-- Peter Kreeft, philosopher

Some thoughts on life

Aristotle was asked, “What things should an intelligent person acquire?”

He replied, “Those things which will swim with you when your ship sinks.”

--Translated from the Greek by Thomas Cleary

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The Mahabharata says, “Of all the world’s wonders, which is the most wonderful?

“That no man, though he sees others dying all around him, believes that he himself will die.”

-- Annie Dillard in For the Time Being

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"The unexamined life is not worth living."-- Socrates in Apology

++++++++++“Let all that is not born of God within you die.”-- Francois de Fenelon, mystic

++++++++++“Who is the authentic individual? One whose life, in the fruit of long silence, gains character and whose actions acquire the power to excite and arouse.”--Soren Kierkegaard, philosopher

“We run carelessly to the precipice, after we have put something before us to prevent us seeing it.”-- Blaise Pascal, 17th century philosopher and mathematician

++++++++++“Therefore I lie with her, and she with me,And in our faults by lies we flattered be.”-- Shakespeare, Sonnet 138

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“What better gift can you give yourself than to arrive in the present moment?”-- Natalie Goldberg in Thunder and Lightning

when nakedness loses its mysterya culture is lost.

Here's what I'm listening to these days

Armchair Interview with Steven James on his thriller The Pawn

1. Where did the idea for The Pawn come from?The idea for The Pawn grew out of the question that I began to ask myself, “What makes me different from a serial killer?” I’d been researching cults at the time and the two things converged and I ended up including both the killer and the cult in the end.

2. Patrick Bowers is such an intriguing character. In the book we see how brilliant he is as an FBI agent, yet his personal life is a mess. For example, Patrick has an uncanny ability to get into the minds of criminals, yet he can't remember when his step-daughter's birthday is. This reminds me of how as fathers sometimes we get so involved in our careers, hobbies, etc. that we can let those things come before family. Were you thinking about the challenges of fatherhood when you created Patrick Bowers?When I was creating Patrick Bowers character, I like the paradox of having someone who notices everything about a case but isn’t able to notice his own daughter. It isn’t that he doesn’t care about her, it’s just that he doesn’t know how to love her or be a parent for her. I think that in the book, both Patrick and Tessa want to be closer to each other but don’t know how to take the first step. By coming between them, the killer actually ends up bringing them closer together.

3. In The Pawn, Patrick Bowers is an expert on environmental criminology, a somewhat new and controversial method of solving crimes. How much research did you do in this field? Is this type of criminology used and accepted in the real world?I spent nearly a year researching and writing The Pawn. The theories for environmental criminology have been around for decades but only recently have they been finding more widespread acceptance as computer technology has progressed so that they could actually be implemented. It’s fascinating. I consulted with the world’s leading geographic profiler and tried to only include accurate investigative information. He ended up giving me a great endorsement for the book.

4. You obviously did your homework for this novel. A major part of the plot revolves around the Jonestown Massacre. What sort of research and interviews did you do in your preparation? Did any interesting experiences come out of this?To investigate the Jonestown massacre, I read transcripts of some of Jim Jones’ sermons, listened to interviews, watched video from the compound, and interviewed one of the three people still alive today who walked out of Jonestown and survived. That was the most fascinating interview I’ve ever done in my life. One of the most striking things for me was not how different the people who died there were from me, but rather how similar they were. They were people of dignity and worth even though they came to a tragic end.

5. How many Bowers Files novels will there be? When can we expect The Rook?The Pawn is the first in a series of at least three novels featuring Patrick Bowers. The next novel follows Patrick on a complete new investigation involving a serial arsonist and killer. Lots of the characters from The Pawn appear in The Rook.The Rook is scheduled to release in the summer of 2008.

6. I noticed on your website that you have quite a diverse background: Youth pastor, museum educator, wilderness guide, professional storyteller. As a matter of fact, you even have a Masters of Arts in Storytelling! How have all of these experiences shaped you as a writer?I guess in my heart of hearts I just love telling a good story. Over the years I’ve dabbled in different genres and I’m glad that I’ve landed in a place where I can write thrillers and tell complex, suspenseful stories that deal with the big questions of human nature and the paradox of good and evil.

7. In your writing do you plot extensively or do you let the story come to you as you write? What's a typical writing day like for Steven James?I tend to be a pretty organic author, letting the story develop as I write. I know the broad strokes of where I want the story to go but as I get to know the characters and see the events unfold, I get a clearer idea of the details and direction of the story. I have no idea what a typical day is. Sometimes I write on the porch, in the basement, at coffee shops, in the car at traffic lights, in my daughters’ treehouse, on airplanes, in hotels, in bed, and on mountaintops.

8. Who are some authors who have inspired you in your writing?As far as thrillers go, I like James Patterson, Dean Koontz, and Peter Blauner. I also enjoy reading Christian mysticism and philosophy. I think graphic novels are pretty cool too.

9. What advice can you give to aspiring novelists?The biggest advice I can give to inspiring novelists is to continually make things worse for your protagonist. In every scene ask, “What else could go wrong?” Give them a both an internal struggle (a regret, a secret, a frustration, or an unrealized dream) and an external struggle.

One of the most powerful verses in the Bible

Every time I read this verse I'm humbled and amazed--to think that God would break out into song when he thinks of me.

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

Sometimes I like to read those words and replace the "you" with "Steve." Then the hope and promise of the words becomes even more personal and powerful. Try it with your own name once. See how it affects the way you view yourself.

“Love makes more waves than hate. Wicked men will hate and fear you more for loving them than for hating them. They will quickly forgive you for being wrong, but they will never forgive you for being right.”-- Peter Kreeft, philosopher

54 Secrets to Creativity for Writers and Other Desperate People

1. Pray. Walk in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). God is creative, he is the creator of the heavens and the earth. The more you become like God, the more creative you’ll become.

2. Go to a new place. This helps spark new ways of thinking. Visit a park, a different restaurant, a coffee shop, stroll along the beach, go to a hotel for the night, or drive to a nearby town.

3. Change the type of media you’re exposed to.

4. Think in terms of connections and relationships rather than propositions and arguments.

5. Develop a controlling metaphor rather than a theme statement.

6. Keep going after you think you’re out of ideas. The best ideas often take the longest to discover.

7. Remove distractions. Clarity of thinking and concentration depend upon your ability to focus on one idea or concept.

8. Rotate the prism. Think about your problem, story, or idea from another perspective. Tell the story in first alligator. Alter the genre.

9. Change your comfort level. If you’re used to being comfortable, get uncomfortable. If you’re used to being uncomfortable, get comfortable.

10. Take a break. New discoveries often depend on your ability to be open to the ideas and inspiration that may pass your way unexpectedly. This is called serendipity

11. Believe in the process and trust your instincts. Writing is an act of faith.

12. Work in a different direction—either forward or backward.

13. Look at the project as a whole or in small parts.

14. Understand the paradox of freedom.

15. Go and play.

16. Feed your brain facts and ideas that you would never think of on your own. Research something unusual.

17. Spend some time with children and look at the world through their eyes.

18. Ask stupid questions.

19. Change your expectations. Begin believing that you will come up with new ideas, that you are capable of being creative and that you will finish your project. Stop telling yourself that you can’t do it.

20. Accept that not every idea is a good one, but that’s ok. Stop telling yourself that there’s only one way to do something or that there is a right way to do it. When you tell yourself those things you might actually start believing them! Failure is not fatal, giving up is.

21. Pay attention to the world. Begin noticing what your five senses are telling you.

26. Ask other people what they think or how they might use the idea. Remember, you are not the expert on everything.

27. Become an expert and then approach your idea like a novice.

28. Set a deadline.

29. Enter your own personal black hole and see where it leads you. Usually it will lead you to view space in an entirely new way.

30. Define the problem.

31. Ask “What if?”

32. Organize yourself.

33. Un-organize yourself.

34. Show your character's attitude about a place, object or person.

35. Ask how someone you admire would solve this problem. Or someone you hate. Or are afraid of. Or are in love with.

36. Begin your story at a different place. Or end it at a different place. Or give it a different theme.

37. Give your characters a quirk and then think of what problems it might lead to.

38. Try to think of a way to visualize your abstract idea with something concrete.

39. Ask yourself, “What else could go wrong for this character? How could things get worse?” These questions will almost always lead you toward better plot ideas.

40. Change to a different image and see where that leads you. Explore how two ideas that appear to have nothing to do with each other have something to do with each other.

41. Start listening to your dreams.

42. Make your character do something naughty or unacceptable or shocking.

43. Give your character a secret.

44. Make yourself think of 20 different scenes that you can add to your stories that don’t seem to fit.

45. Make them fit.

46. Stop asking the same questions and address the problem in a new way. Instead of asking, “What should my plot be?” Ask what should my character’s goal be?” Or “How could I add a twist to my story?” “How could I make this story worse?” Or “Could I tell this story backward?” Or “Would this story be better on a different planet?” Or “What would be an impossible situation for someone to escape from?” And then “How will my character choose to escape and fail two times before stumbling upon the solution?”

48. Write while in an altered state – sleepy, dizzy, after having a glass of wine or 24 ounces of espresso.

49. Exercise. It helps you relax, relieves stress and gets your blood flowing, and helps you stay healthy. You are one unit, one living organism. If you have an unhealthy body, you will not have as unhealthy of a mind. Your brain is connected to your fat cells. Ew. Get your body in shape and you’ll get your brain in shape!

50. In one study, the researchers found that the two best ways of coming up with new ideas were (1) going on a walk and (2) taking a shower. So do them.

51. Get some solitude; isolate yourself. Rather than overwhelming your senses, starve them.

52. In her book, “Making a Good Writer Great,” Linda Seger suggests the following: Talk about the story, listen to mood music, surround yourself with unique fragrances, eat different food, time yourself, and or try extemporaneous writing.

53. Take a nap.

54. Wake up.

Spiritual insights from the ages

“He learned how to walk, stumbled and fell, cried for His milk, sweated blood in the night, was lashed with a whip and showered with spit, was fixed to a cross and died whispering forgiveness on us all.”-- Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

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“If you want to be loathsome to God, just run with the herd.”-- Soren Kierkegaard, philosopher++++++++++

“Without prayer, the constant traffic and opinions of people around us will swamp our inner lives and finally drown them.”-- Johann Christoph Arnold, pastor and author

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“Nothing is so easy as to deceive one’s self; for what we wish we readily believe.”-- Demosthenes, ancient Greek orator

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“Only that day dawns to which we are awake.”-- Henry David Thoreau, philosopher, poet, and author

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“Ever keep in mind thine end, and that time lost returneth no more.”--Thomas A. Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

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“Only the hand that erases can write the true thing.”-- Meister Eckhart, mystic

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“You must stop examining spiritual truths like dry bones! You must break open the bones and take in the life-giving marrow.”-- Sadhu Sundar Singh, Indian mystic in the early 1900s

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“Unless a definite step is demanded, the call vanishes into thin air, and if people imagine they can follow Jesus without taking this step, they are deluding themselves like fanatics. Although Peter cannot achieve his own conversion, he can leave his nets.”--Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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“Anxiety is the secret wound of modern man.”-- Helmut Thielicke, author and preacher in the 1940s

An Ancient Prayer

From the cowardice that shrinks from new truth,

From the laziness that’s content with half-truth,

From the arrogance of the one who thinks he knows all truth,

Oh God of truth,

Deliver me!

When Aesop was taken captive, a man who wanted to buy him said, “Shall I buy you?”

Aesop said, “How can you buy me to be your slave after you have taken me as an adviser?”

--Translated from the Greek by Thomas Cleary

Stupid Signs I've Seen

At a Dairy Queen Restaurant - "Chilled Hot Chocoloate."

At a park in Wisconsin - "No living in parked vehicles."

At a rest stop - "No dumping."

On a highway in North Carolina - "No permitted trucks allowed."

At a retirement community in Kentucky - "No running in halls."

Near a hotel swimming pool in Tennessee - “Please do not throw your cigarette butts on the ground. Little critters come out at night and smoke them. We are trying to get them to quit.”

“Anxiety is the secret wound of modern man.”

-- Helmut Thielicke, circa 1944

The Resurrection of the Body

He’s a terror, that one--Turns water into wine,Wine into blood--I wonder what He turns blood into?-- Christopher Derrick